Interviewing Skills: A Quick Guide for New APRNs

So, you’ve made it through nursing school, passed all your exams and certifications, and are ready to be an APRN. What’s next? Finding a job, of course! While tailoring your resume and showcasing your experience is an important part of job hunting, there is nothing more vital to obtaining a nursing job than interviewing well. Read on for some quick tips on how to improve your interview skills for APRN jobs.
 

Step 1: Research Interview Questions

While an interview is a great way for you to show your vast knowledge of nursing, it is important to get an idea of the kinds of questions that your interviewer will ask you. There are many websites that you can use to research questions. Indeed.com is one and says that the following questions are commonly asked in Nurse Practitioner interviews:

1. Why did you choose to become a nurse practitioner?
2. How do you perform under stress?
3. What do you think is the most challenging aspect of working as a nurse practitioner?
4. How would you respond if you witnessed unethical actions from a member of your care team?
5. What do you contribute to a patient’s care experience?

 
Step 2: Practice by doing Mock Interviews

If you haven’t done many interviews, they can be quite intimidating. In order to avoid having nerves that might trip you up, you can do mock interviews to help you practice. Often, if you are still in school, your career center will have services that allow you to practice interviewing and will even provide you feedback on how to improve. If you are out of school or don’t have access to a career center at your school, just sit down with a friend or family member! Write up a long list of questions and ask your interviewer to select a few to ask you. Do this a few times with a number of different people. It will really help you to be less nervous!

 
Step 3: Research the Company Before Your Interview

Make sure that you learn as much about the company that is interviewing you as possible. While you can always look at the company’s website, there are also informative job sites where you can learn about the company directly from employees. For example, the website Glassdoor has reviews and information (directly from employees) about a variety of topics regarding the workplace, such as the culture, salary, and interviews.

 
Step 4: ISAPN’s One-Day Virtual Boot Camp

If you are looking for an experience tailored to preparing APRNs for getting a new job -- ISAPN is here to help. The ISAPN Virtual Boot Camp will assist you with starting your career. Seasoned practitioners will cover practical skills—from transition support to procedural skills needed for your practice environment—that help you get paid what you’re worth and avoid common mistakes on the job. In addition, our boot camp will help you to be fully prepared for all of your interviews. Sign up at our website today!